They said Arsene Wenger was tracking Yakubu. True enough, but it is Ismail, 20, who plays right side of central defence for Barnet not the Middlesbrough centre forward. The former has already been with Arsenal on a pre-season trip and played 152 games for Barnet and featured in tomorrow’s Guardian.
Real Madrid striker Ronaldo has been recalled for Wednesday’s Champions League match after being dropped against Atletico Madrid at the weekend. Zidane is also fit and in the squad after a knock.
The Evening Standard reports that Wenger summoned all his first team squad into the London Colney training centre yesterday for warm down exercises to recover from a demanding fortnight.
Wenger said: “We need recovery work because we have played a lot of games recently and most of the players had international games in the midweek. It is warm-down work and massages.”
Wenger’s only major decision now appears to be Robert Pires is back in the squad after recovering from a flu virus.
The signs are that Wenger will play the same side as in Madrid, with Hleb and Reyes. Diaby is fit after an ankle knock.
Freddie Ljungberg, 28, is seen draping himself over several cars at Indianapolis in The Guardian Magazine.
Wenger said: “I cannot imagine that Freddie in five or six months lost his ability to score.” But before jumping to conclusions that quote is in The Journal and adds: “It was just that as a team we were not as dangerous.”
“He’s a winner and can suddenly get a second gear. He’s done that many years from March onwards, he’s always been very strong. You cannot say he’s only a midfielder. He’s a striker and a midfielder and he can go about everywhere. He’s one of the most experienced players in the team as well.”
In the Liverpool Post & Echo, Wenger says on Pires: “It is not inevitable that he will leave. Robert has a choice to make whether to stay or go. I want him to stay because he is an important player in the squad – we have such a young squad that the experience of players like Robert Pires will always be important to us. He wants more than one year, but I remain faithful to our policy [of only offereing over 30s one year contracts].”
The International Herald Tribune [and they would if anyone would] points out that 20 of the 22 players on the Fulham v Arsenal field and all the substitutes on the benches were foreign. There were 18 different nationalities. Only Zat Knight and Liam Rosenoir, both of Fulham, were English.
Spurs’ boss Martin Jol said after going five points clear of Arsenal, after a wrong decision for a throw in leading to a goal which may yet cost Arsenal a place in the Champions League, and the loss of Thierry Henry: “A lot of teams would like to swap with us. But we have away games against Arsenal and Chelsea and home games against Manchester United and Bolton.”